MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – A tropical storm warning has been issued for the South Carolina coast as Hurricane Idalia strengthens to a Category 4 hurricane early Wednesday morning.

Idalia made landfall near Florida’s Keaton Beach around 7:45 a.m. as a Category 3 hurricane. The storm had fluctuated between a Category 3 and Category 4 hurricane before daybreak Wednesday.

After landfall, forecasters say the storm will make a northeastern turn and then east – moving near the coast of Georgia and South Carolina.

According to the National Weather Service, Idalia will subside to a tropical storm as it moves along the South Carolina coast. At 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, Idalia was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it moved across land towards Georgia.

In Charleston, impacts from Idalia will gradually increase Wednesday morning and continue through Thursday morning.

A tropical storm warning is active for Charleston, inland Colleton, Berkeley, Georgetown, Dorchester, and Williamsburg counties. A storm surge watch is in place for Charleston and coastal Colleton counties.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the mouth of St. Mary’s River northward to Edisto Beach and Coastal Colleton County.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch at 10:56 a.m. Wednesday for Berkeley County, Charleston County, Colleton County, Dorchester County, Georgetown County, and Williamsburg County. The watch is set to expire at 10 p.m.

The tornado watch was quickly upgraded to a warning at 11:15 a.m. in the Hollywood and Ravenel area.

“If you are in Hollywood or Ravenel, you need to stay inside until 11:45 a.m.,” Storm Team 2 Meteorologist Josh Marthers said.

The Lowcountry is bracing for heavy rain bands, flooding, minor storm surges, and frequent wind gusts.

Rainfall totals are expected to range between 4 and 8 inches in inland South Carolina, and 1 to 3 inches closer to the coast.

Flooding is possible in inland and coastal areas. “We are going to be dealing with pockets of very heavy rain, and that heavy rain will be coming down in a short amount of time,” Marthers said Wednesday morning.

A storm surge watch is in place for Charleston and coastal Colleton counties. Storm Team 2 predicts the Charleston metropolitan area could see water levels of about 2 to 4 feet above the ground in surge-prone areas, primarily along the coastline.

Marthers predicts frequent 35 to 75 mph winds in the area, with the highest winds over the coastal water.

The Storm Prediction Center has outlined an elevated risk of tornados for the eastern half of South Carolina. NWS issued a tornado watch for many Lowcountry counties Wednesday at 10:56 a.m. Marthers says storms that make landfall in the Gulf of Mexico are notorious tornado producers for the Carolinas.

Count on Storm Team 2 to track this storm and bring you the latest on any potential impacts to the Lowcountry. Be sure to download the News 2 app and Storm Team 2 app for important updates.

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A new entertainment site and sports bar plans to open in September in Mount Pleasant.

Mix at 730 Coleman Blvd. recently received its certificate of occupancy and is in the final stages of staffing up, according to owner David Breen. The opening date has not been announced.

The venue includes duckpin bowling, a curling platform, ax-throwing cages, ping-pong, cornhole, indoor and outdoor bars and a private speakeasy.

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The soul food dining venue closed in 2020, but the granddaughter of the late Martha Lou Gadsden plans to salvage art on the building. A two-story commercial building is slated for the property on Morrison Drive.

4,750: Square footage of new car wash planned next to a future Chick-fil-A in West Ashley.

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4: Cost of movies in dollars at most theaters across the nation on Aug. 27 as part of National Cinema Day.

4,800: Square footage of planned restaurant next to car wash on site in West Ashley.

+ Better flow: Chick-fil-A wants to make changes at one of its Charleston-area restaurants.

+ Now open: A new wine shop that carries other items recently launched operations in Charleston.

+ Floating away: The owner of a man-made floating island that’s been moored in a tidal creek near Folly Beach has agreed to remove the structure, but he’s not conceding any wrongdoing.

Church & Union restaurant is located at 32 N. Market St. in downtown Charleston. The owner of the property, which includes neighboring restaurant Tempest and a corner candy store, plans to sell the buildings.

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Editor’s Note: This page is no longer being updated. See the latest on Hurricane Idalia here.

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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Tropical Storm Idalia is forecasted to intensify into a hurricane on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said.

Storm Team 2 is watching two storms Monday morning, Franklin in the Atlantic Ocean and Idalia in the Caribbean.

While Franklin continues to form in the Atlantic, sending high surf and rip currents towards to South Carolina coast, forecasters say Franklin is not a major concern for the Lowcountry.

Storm Team 2 Meteorologist Josh Marthers is keeping a close eye on Idalia as it intensifies in the Caribbean.

The National Weather Service expects Idalia to become a “major” hurricane later today and make landfall with category three strength along Florida’s Gulf Coast Wednesday morning.

The storm is forecasted to track along or near the Georgia and South Carolina coast as a tropical storm through Thursday morning.

The Lowcountry will feel the storm’s impact Tuesday night through early Thursday morning. The more severe portion of the storm will impact the Lowcountry on Wednesday as Idalia moves over the coast as a Tropical Storm.

Folks in the Lowcountry should expect heavy bands of rain, increased flooding concerns, gusty winds, power outages, and isolated tornados.

Marthers says storms that make landfall in the Gulf of Mexico are notorious tornado producers for the Carolinas.

Officials recommend that residents prepare for the gusty winds today by securing outdoor furniture and trash cans. “If you can pick it up, put it up,” South Carolina Emergency Management Division says.

As of Monday morning, the National Weather Service has not issued any watches, warnings, or advisories associated with Idalia for Southeast South Carolina.

Count on Storm Team 2 to track this storm and bring you the latest on any potential impacts to the Lowcountry. Be sure to download the News 2 app and Storm Team 2 app for important updates.

One mother is demanding better for her children after what she said were questionable experiences at a Mount Pleasant daycare.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - One mother is demanding better for her children after what she said were questionable experiences at a Mount Pleasant daycare.

April Gilliard said her children attended Sunshine House for two years before she ultimately pulled them from the center after hearing a toddler was found wandering near Long Point Road.

Witness reports from Sunshine House staff that were received from the Department of Social Services show a toddler escaped out of a gate while on the playground and was found by staff in the arms of a truck driver.

Gilliard said the daycare never addressed what happened to the other parents, she was made aware of the situation through a post on social media.

“I asked about it and was told that wasn’t true,” Gilliard said. “I was told it was the previous director who was trying to sabotage the reputation or the name of the center.”

Gilliard said she had her own questionable experiences at the daycare as well. Some days she had trouble getting in contact with the daycare to check on her kids. On other days, when she received pictures from staff, it looked like too many children were in one classroom.

“When I got to the center I asked, ‘How was your day, what’s going on, did you guys have to combine classrooms,’” Gilliard said. “None of that was really communicated.”

She said the social media post about the escaped toddler was her final straw.

“It makes me question what happened prior to this incident,” Gilliard said.

Documents obtained from the Freedom of Information Act show inadequate supervision at the daycare has been an ongoing problem since 2015.

According to Department of Social Services documents, eight separate visits to the center reported deficiencies in areas like improper child-to-caregiver ratio, unqualified caregivers, inadequate supervision or improper accounting for the presence of children.

Gillard said by sharing her experiences, she is advocating for her own children and other children in the community.

“These are issues that are going on and no one is being held accountable, no one is actually speaking on it, and some parents don’t have social media to find out or learn about these things,” Gilliard said.

Sunshine House provided the following comment:

This past May, at our school in Mount Pleasant on Long Point Road, a child on the playground opened an exterior gate and was able to leave the premises and walk through the parking lot.

The safety and well-being of the children in our care is our highest priority. While the child was, thankfully, returned unharmed to the school two minutes later, we are distraught that this occurred.

Following the incident, we contacted the child’s family and officially notified our state licensor and Child Protective Services, per state licensing regulations and company procedures. The teachers were placed on administrative leave pending the results of both internal and state licensing investigations. The teachers involved are no longer employed with the company.

The playground gate was functioning and closed at the time of the incident. After this incident, we worked with our state licensors to identify a South Carolina state-approved lock, which was subsequently installed.

Two teachers were supervising 12 children on the playground at the time of the incident. The state ratio for this age group is 1 teacher to 6 children or 2 teachers to 12 children.

The safety and well-being of the children in our care is our highest priority, and we cannot stress enough how seriously we take this incident. We have bolstered our operational procedures and retrained teachers and teammates on playground safety checks and other safety protocols.

The Department of Social Services provided the following comment:

The provider in question was terminated from the ABC Quality program in June 2023 due to documented serious safety violations and the provider has not appealed the decision. Providers must be enrolled in the ABC Quality program to accept childcare scholarship funds issued by the Department of Social Services per federal guidelines.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

MOUNT PLEASANT — A year ago, Lucy Beckham quarterback Chalmers Ballard admitted he was a little nervous when the Bengals faced crosstown rivals Wando in front of 10,000 fans.

The junior quarterback had no such jitters this year.

Chalmers threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns and running back Stephen Segars rushed for 112 yards and added two more TDs as Lucy Beckham routed Wando, 43-0, on Aug. 25 before a standing-room-only crowd at District 2 Stadium.

The Bengals, who are playing in just their second varsity season, have beaten Wando both times the schools have faced each other. Lucy Beckham edged the Warriors, 8-6, a season ago in the first varsity matchup between the two schools.

Unlike the game last season, which featured two stingy defenses and little offense, the Class AAAA Bengals moved the ball at will against the AAAAA Warriors, scoring on five straight offensive possession in the first half.

“I didn’t do this all by myself, I had a lot of help from all of my teammates,” said Chalmers, who completed 13 of 19 passes on the night. “They’ve put in so much work in the offseason and we just get on the field and did the things that we’ve been practicing for the past four months.

“I think the final score shows that Beckham is here and we can play. We’ve worked so hard and it’s great to see it pay off with this kind of result.”

As good as the Bengals offense was, the defense was even better. The Bengals, under former The Citadel defensive coordinator Tony Grantham, limited the Warriors to less than 100 yards of total offense and only 26 rushing yards.

“We are a relentless defense,” said Lucy Beckham coach Jamel Smith, who used to be the defensive coordinator Wando. “We always preach finish plays, finish tackles, don’t assume that someone else is going to make that tackle. We swarm to the football and it showed tonight. They kids have bought into what we are doing.”

Keeping with tradition that started last year, the losing principal had to kiss “Billy the Goat” at midfield after the game was over.

Wando principal Chas Coker did the honors Friday night.

“My boss ain’t kissing no goat tonight,” Smith said with a chuckle.

Lucy Beckham grabbed momentum when the Bengals marched 80 yards in 11 plays to take an 8-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Chalmers finished off the drive when he hit tight end Bryce Rothwell in the end zone for a TD with 2:06 to play in the opening quarter.

Lucy Beckham running back Charles Byrd pushed the Bengals’ lead to 15-0 when he capped a 6-play, 65-yard drive with an 11-yard TD run with 10:10 to play before halftime.

Chalmers threw a 27-yard strike to Mason Ombres that took the ball down to the 11-yard line to set up Byrd’s TD run.

After a short punt, it took Lucy Beckham just two plays to go ahead by three touchdowns. Segars gave the Bengals a 22-0 lead with a 1-yard TD run with 7:33 to play before halftime.

Chalmers threw his second TD pass of the first half, connecting on a 7-yard TD to Henry Brosey to give the Bengals a 29-0 lead with 5:38 left before halftime.

Segars scored for the second time on the Bengals first play from scrimmage to start the second half. After a bad snap on a punt, the Bengals recovered the ball at the Wando 3.

Segars went around the right side untouched into the end zone to give Lucy Beckham a 36-0 lead with 10 minutes to play.

Robert Myers’ 23-yard TD run gave the Bengals a 43-0 lead with 3:14 left in the third quarter.